2-Door JK JeepKitchen - AT Chaser - Globetrotter - National Luna build thread

[jacobconroy]

I've never been happy with the double-basket system in my National Luna Weekender fridge. A few weekends ago I decided to take out the little basket and put the deep basket on the bottom of the fridge (to keep bouncing items from damaging the floor of the fridge).

This has made the fridge much more pleasant to use and I can fit quite a bit more stuff into the fridge section. With two baskets it takes two hands to deal with them. Using only one basket turns it into a one-handed problem. You might think that having everything in one pile is a mess. It isn't. I put water & beer on the bottom and pile the food on top.

Thought I'd share this because it has made a big difference in my fridge satisfaction level.

 

[jacobconroy]

I know for gas saws they make a nylon case . it would probably take up double the room though .better your saw then your pee pee

I haven't been able to find a plastic case that is "just big enough" for my little Stihl...and I've really been looking! I went so far as to buy a standard Stihl plastic case, brought it home, loaded it up, and tried to find a place to fit it in the rear of the Jeep. Didn't work out.

Next I tried to get someone on the forum to sew up a heavy-canvas case (custom-to-fit). That didn't work out either.

One of these days I'll figure out how to deal with saw storage. This works for now.

In the beginning my obsessive nature wanted drawers, storage bags, shelves for everything...on and on and on. My point of view has changed drastically. It already takes me 45 minutes to pack up the Jeep after camping (without including the Chaser or it's Eezi-Awn tent). Storage systems are a pain IMO.

Better to have a place for everything, and everything in it's place. Now, to be fair, I am daydreaming about mounting the Kanz Kitchen on a slide. Moving it around at camp is starting to get old.

 

[mobydick 11]

Hi Jacob I have noticed you buy the best of equipment . that is one of the mantras of over-landing i see .buy the best . I am in the middle of converting a Mitsubishi JB 500 to a overland type . I am replacing all the systems ,what i am trying to do is make it plug and play . that way when i find the perfect jeep i can just switch back and forth depending what one i want to take . like the ARB fridge in place of the old 3 way . I am now looking at a FJ cruiser it is a TRD trail team edition ,this vehicle looks like a perfect over-lander right out of the box .

 

[jacobconroy]

Hi Jacob I have noticed you buy the best of equipment . that is one of the mantras of over-landing i see .buy the best . I am in the middle of converting a Mitsubishi JB 500 to a overland type . I am replacing all the systems ,what i am trying to do is make it plug and play . that way when i find the perfect jeep i can just switch back and forth depending what one i want to take . like the ARB fridge in place of the old 3 way . I am now looking at a FJ cruiser it is a TRD trail team edition ,this vehicle looks like a perfect over-lander right out of the box .

I haven't owned an FJ, but I think it would be a good choice. When I bought this Jeep it was between an FJ Cruiser and the JK. The JK won because the top was removable.

For reliability alone, I certainly would have bought an FJ if they would have had a removable top. Keep in mind that I had to put a new engine in my JK at 60K miles. The main-bearing had "spun" and the guy that looked into it seemed to think that some part involved with the "oil bypass" was installed backwards. IMO American cars are complete crap. A wise man shouldn't keep one past 100K miles.

As for buying nice stuff...I try to. We are not particularly "well off" and I have to save for the gear that I buy. Some of my decisions haven't been the best though. I have a lot of expensive junk in my basement.

I know a fellow with a newer FJ & RTT. He seems to like it. No doubt that the FJ deals with the weight of an RTT better than my 2-door JK does.

Edit: I've thought about this...and out of our four vehicles...only one isn't made in America. If I have to be honest, the Subaru has been the most reliable car we own, but it only has 25K on it so far.

Another edit: When you talk about "Buying the best"...I have to say that I'm starting to discover that it isn't always necessary. Hell...we all know that it is almost never necessary to "buy the best". For example, I have a $250.00 set of Snow Peak cast iron. Yes, it's nice gear and no, it isn't big enough for me to cook in. I'd rather have one large pan to cook dinner in (and one to wash) than using two 6-inch pans and having to wash two. Lately I've been using a 10-inch Lodge cast-iron set and it works great. Total cost is under $50.00.

When it comes to an RTT things are more complicated. My RTT was nearly $3K and it has served it's purpose (was a demo model). If I had a China-made RTT at half-price I'd guess that I would still have 99% of the fun. Something to think about. In real life, the only things that count about an RTT are: how easy is it to open/close, is it waterproof, how much does it cost? My next RTT will be easier to open and close...no matter how much it costs.

Awning are different though. I'd advise you to spend as much money on a good awning as you can. Awnings can be a lot of work to setup and put away. Some simply require two people. I don't have "two people" at camp. In my experience a good and easy awning makes the difference between "camping comfortably" and "sitting around in the rain and being pissed".

 

[jacobconroy]

All heil @Bear in NM . He is a smart fellow. In this thread , he mentioned that he stores his electric saw with the bar removed. Genius!!!!!

I tried it today. First I took the saw apart to see how big it would all be with the bar seperated:




Then I started looking around the basement for some sort of bag that I might have not used. Low and behold I found this (my wife bought it for something years ago and didn't use it. Brand new with tags):


I think we grabbed it a Home Despot (or one of those stores). Each side has a zip-cover with Uber storage for small items:


Saw and all parts fits in the center compartment like a glove, though the bag is a little taller than it needs to be.


But then I remembered that I'm tired of stuffing compressor hoses and other tire stuff (which allowed me to rescue a pretty young gal on a FS road last weekend) under the passenger seat. Now I have a spot for it:


Other assorted "under the seat crap" that now has a home. With a room for a lot more.


I was hoping to put it behind the fridge, but it interferes with the lid.


Fits pretty well on top of the National Luna Power Pack though. Nice enough that it can't slide around and most importantly, it doesn't bury anything else. One of the "build two" goals is NO MORE PILING. Makes for a lot screwing around at camp when you are forced to pile junk. Fridge opens this way with no B.S.?


And I can now use this side of the tools storage for little stuff at camp without having to anything other than tipping the seat forward:


I'm pretty excited about this as it's been a year of mental gymnastics trying to find a place to store that saw. Done for now. Of course, I'll do something different with it later. I change my mind every other day about this stuff.

Now that the saw has been moved from between the fridge and chuckbox I am thinking about picking up the Yeti 1-gallon Rambler and it's mounting bracket and putting one or two of them where the saw was. Still thinking about that.

I really am leaning towards building some untra-light locking pullout slide for the Kanz Kitchen. Maybe.

 

[mobydick 11]

so the saw does not leak oil with the bar off ?or is this a storage solution not so much as bar oil drip solution ? I am pushing hard to get my JB500 ready for the trip east . now i am working on the wiring. amazing what people do , the 110 volt plugs were hooked up by striping off some plastic on the cord folding the wire over the two male prongs then plugging it into a female plug !! the main 12 volt positive feed had a big tape section in the middle so i pulled it off to see why . the cable was just twisted together ,no connector or even solder . I found this in 4 wires and splices so far .

 

[jacobconroy]

so the saw does not leak oil with the bar off ?or is this a storage solution not so much as bar oil drip solution ? I am pushing hard to get my JB500 ready for the trip east . now i am working on the wiring. amazing what people do , the 110 volt plugs were hooked up by striping off some plastic on the cord folding the wire over the two male prongs then plugging it into a female plug !! the main 12 volt positive feed had a big tape section in the middle so i pulled it off to see why . the cable was just twisted together ,no connector or even solder . I found this in 4 wires and splices so far .

Bummer about your wiring...but it's better that you fix it than find out after something bad happens!

I'm sure the saw still leaks a bit. I put the triple-folded towel down under the saw compartment. My thinking is that it's easier to wash a towel than a duffle bag. If it gets through the towel then I still have the bag for a bit more safety. The question is...will it POUR oil out with the bar removed???

If it leaks worse this way, then I'll need to go back to finding an "assembled" storage technique. Should be easy. If the oil is "bone dry" in a week or two, then I'll have to start over. ?

 

[mobydick 11]

your storage bag solution looks rely useful , thinking when i final get around to good organization like this i would use labels or a tag to show whats in there . what if you just load the saw in with the sprocket or oilier port turned to the top . with it being electric you don't have to be worried about gas spilling out . you could cut a piece of that foam for it to sit in ,like they do in those fancy camera cases .

 

[Dzine07]

I'm close to buying the same tent you have (Baroud Space in Black with Iso kit). Sounds like you like it a lot. Have you had any issues with it over the last year? Any advise? thanks

 

[jacobconroy]

I'm close to buying the same tent you have (Baroud Space in Black with Iso kit). Sounds like you like it a lot. Have you had any issues with it over the last year? Any advise? thanks

I'd have to say it's a good tent, meaning that it hasn't failed me over the last three years. I have recently noticed that there are several large cracks in the gel coat and that bothers me a bit...but I haven't taken very good care of the gel coat and the tent does not leak.

Some observations and opinions of mine concerning JB:

• Remove the mattress cover as soon as you mount your tent and replace it with a bed sheet. The horrible "plasticy-chemical smell" that Barouds are famous for seems to come from the Baroud mattress cover when it's baking in the sun...and a bed sheet is easy to remove, clean, and replace. The Baroud mattress cover is very difficult to remove and even harder to put on.
• Make darned sure that your tent is long enough for you to sleep in. Mine is a couple of inches too short and I am forced to sleep diagonally (but I'm pretty much used to it now).
• Make sure you wash and wax the RTT each fall and spring (you might have better luck with the gel coat than I did).
• Decide if you need the extra height at the foot of the tent. I sleep on my stomach and do not need the extra foot space on the Space. If you do not need that space, one of their hinged tents with only two buckles in the rear will be a heck of a lot less work to open and close.
• Buy either a demo RTT or a new one from an authorized dealer to make sure you get the full 5-year warranty. I'm not sure their warranty is still 5-years....so you might want to verify that too.
• If you buy it used (without a transferrable warranty), make sure it's cheap.

All in all, I will probably replace the Baroud with an Alu-Cab Gen 3 next spring. I want an aluminum-shell tent so that I can easily mount a solar panel on top and to avoid dealing with fiberglass maintenance in the future. The Gen 3 also has two buckles instead of four and looks to be much easier to close than the Space.

These are just my opinions. Feel free to ask if you need more clarification!

 

[Dzine07]

I'd have to say it's a good tent, meaning that it hasn't failed me over the last three years. I have recently noticed that there are several large cracks in the gel coat and that bothers me a bit...but I haven't taken very good care of the gel coat and the tent does not leak.

Some observations and opinions of mine concerning JB:

• Remove the mattress cover as soon as you mount your tent and replace it with a bed sheet. The horrible "plasticy-chemical smell" that Barouds are famous for seems to come from the Baroud mattress cover when it's baking in the sun...and a bed sheet is easy to remove, clean, and replace. The Baroud mattress cover is very difficult to remove and even harder to put on.
• Make darned sure that your tent is long enough for you to sleep in. Mine is a couple of inches too short and I am forced to sleep diagonally (but I'm pretty much used to it now).
• Make sure you wash and wax the RTT each fall and spring (you might have better luck with the gel coat than I did).
• Decide if you need the extra height at the foot of the tent. I sleep on my stomach and do not need the extra foot space on the Space. If you do not need that space, one of their hinged tents with only two buckles in the rear will be a heck of a lot less work to open and close.
• Buy either a demo RTT or a new one from an authorized dealer to make sure you get the full 5-year warranty. I'm not sure their warranty is still 5-years....so you might want to verify that too.
• If you buy it used (without a transferrable warranty), make sure it's cheap.

All in all, I will probably replace the Baroud with an Alu-Cab Gen 3 next spring. I want an aluminum-shell tent so that I can easily mount a solar panel on top and to avoid dealing with fiberglass maintenance in the future. The Gen 3 also has two buckles instead of four and looks to be much easier to close than the Space.

These are just my opinions. Feel free to ask if you need more clarification!

Thank you those are great notes. I will definitely remove the mattress cover! Chemical smells are a no-go for the wife. We're about 5'10/5'9 I don't think we'll touch the front of the tent (?).

The Space tent I'm looking at belongs to a friend who filed a claim and they sent him a new one. The tent is still in the box and comes with a anti-condensation mattress. He's asking 3K and it still has the warranty so I thought that was a solid deal. It's black and a standard size. Would love the XL but they look like muffin tops on the JK's!

Good comment on wax, need to research that some.

 

[jacobconroy]

Thank you those are great notes. I will definitely remove the mattress cover! Chemical smells are a no-go for the wife. We're about 5'10/5'9 I don't think we'll touch the front of the tent (?).

The Space tent I'm looking at belongs to a friend who filed a claim and they sent him a new one. The tent is still in the box and comes with a anti-condensation mattress. He's asking 3K and it still has the warranty so I thought that was a solid deal. It's black and a standard size. Would love the XL but they look like muffin tops on the JK's!

Good comment on wax, need to research that some.

That sounds like a good deal. Mine was a demo and I think I paid around $2900 (including the Iso kit) shipped with 5 years of warranty. If yours is truly brand new with at least a couple of years worth of warranty I'd snatch it up for $3K.

Again, I'd verify (from the manufacturer or authorized reseller) that the warranty is transferrable as well as how many months of warranty are left. If it should happen that you won't get any warranty....then $3K is probably what it's worth (not necessarily a great deal). Just my two cents. I'm a very cautions fellow.

 

[jacobconroy]

I found the best local camping site to date in my area. At the end of a long, rough road, lots of trees, water near by (though not really drinkable), and didn't see a single person for two days.



A nice and level parking spot that was under trees and had shade both in the evening and morning:


The puppies chillaxing after the sun went down:


And the reason for the trip. I traded my Jeep Kitchen, a Fiamma awning, and an assortment of Snow Peak gear to @BigSkyGuy for my first quality 1911. A Wilson Combat CQB in 9mm. It's so much nicer than my Kimber. Had a chance to do a lot of plinking.



Couldn't keep my hands off it. A shameless plug for the Snow Peak fire pit. Note the dirty, garbage-filled fire pit in the background. As usual.

 

[jacobconroy]

Little Bo dribbled in my tent again when I was luring him to "go down the ladder with me" that morning. When I yelled at him for dribbling, his sister wouldn't come near me and then dribbled when I went in to grab her. I realize that I didn't handle this well, so after THIS little fiasco (and spending two days hosing out & drying my RTT mattress and all bedding), I went to KMart and bought a $15.00 rubber mattress cover for the tent.



I think it will work well. Next time we have "dribble" issues, I will only have to wash the bedding instead of the mattress. Also, I've found that the easiest way to deal with RTT sheets is to take the mattress out, put the sheets on, and then roll up the entire setup (like a softshell taco) and stick it back in the RTT.

Now for zipper pulls. I've tried a couple of jury-rigged fixed and yesterday I found the winner. Large keychain rings. Cost = $0.79 each. The zippers are now very easy to operate and won't bend/break like the chickensh!t zipper pulls that Baroud provides.

 

[jacobconroy]

Finally found a use for the smaller of my Arcteryx Khard backpacks (30 liter). It's now my shooting bag. Just right for three pistols and all the accessories:




This combined with the camp table and my chair make for a very convenient little shooting bench/range. The best part is that I don't have to deal with the soccer moms that are trying to wrangle their compact 9mms at the local range.